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US LNG bunker barge delivery slips yet again

A handover date for the first LNG bunker barge ordered three years ago at a US shipyard has been delayed into the second half of this year.

TOTE executive vice president Peter Keller told TradeWinds that Clean Marine Energy’s 2,200-cbm Clean Jacksonville is likely to on site at its new base in Florida in early July.

Late last year, Keller said the barge would arrive at the end of the first quarter of 2018.

The barge-based bunker unit — the first to be built using a membrane-type rather than a type-C containment system — is to be used in Jacksonville to bunker TOTE’s two 3,100-teu, Marlin-class boxships that run between the US and Puerto Rico.

The two vessels are already in operation using a transfer skid to bunker LNG, which is supplied by truck.

Some LNG players following the project question whether the barge is now required for this business. Last year, TOTE was seen to be marketing the unit to other potential users in the area.

Construction of the barge was dogged by delays, initially as Conrad Shipyard’s Orange facility in Texas got to grips with the technology required to construct it, observers said.

But other factors have also affected the project.

Storms in Florida last year delayed the commissioning of the Jacksonville-based, small-scale, 120,000-gallons-per-day liquefaction plant JAX LNG, from which the barge will pick up LNG.

Before this, a switch around in TOTE’s vessels meant the unit was not required by its original due date.

The barge was initially ordered in February 2015, with delivery scheduled for the following year.

In November last year, energy major Shell announced a project to build a 4,000-cbm bunker barge that will supply two Carnival cruiseship newbuildings from the south-east coast of the US.

The unit will be operated by Harvey Gulf International Marine, owned and built by Harvey Gulf sister venture Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport (Q-LNG Transport), and chartered by Shell.

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US LNG bunker barge delivery slips yet again

A handover date for the first LNG bunker barge ordered three years ago at a US shipyard has been delayed into the second half of this year.

TOTE executive vice president Peter Keller told TradeWinds that Clean Marine Energy’s 2,200-cbm Clean Jacksonville is likely to on site at its new base in Florida in early July.

Late last year, Keller said the barge would arrive at the end of the first quarter of 2018.

The barge-based bunker unit — the first to be built using a membrane-type rather than a type-C containment system — is to be used in Jacksonville to bunker TOTE’s two 3,100-teu, Marlin-class boxships that run between the US and Puerto Rico.

The two vessels are already in operation using a transfer skid to bunker LNG, which is supplied by truck.

Some LNG players following the project question whether the barge is now required for this business. Last year, TOTE was seen to be marketing the unit to other potential users in the area.

Construction of the barge was dogged by delays, initially as Conrad Shipyard’s Orange facility in Texas got to grips with the technology required to construct it, observers said.

But other factors have also affected the project.

Storms in Florida last year delayed the commissioning of the Jacksonville-based, small-scale, 120,000-gallons-per-day liquefaction plant JAX LNG, from which the barge will pick up LNG.

Before this, a switch around in TOTE’s vessels meant the unit was not required by its original due date.

The barge was initially ordered in February 2015, with delivery scheduled for the following year.

In November last year, energy major Shell announced a project to build a 4,000-cbm bunker barge that will supply two Carnival cruiseship newbuildings from the south-east coast of the US.

The unit will be operated by Harvey Gulf International Marine, owned and built by Harvey Gulf sister venture Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport (Q-LNG Transport), and chartered by Shell.